Happiness
by The Stage Crew
Summary: Rin and Sesshomaru have grown closer over the years. But when their estate is attacked Sesshomaru is hurt, and they are forced to journey down to a near town for supplies. While holing up in a cave, Rin goes out for firewood. When she returns back she finds her beloved lord is not as she left him... and later she realizes, she's not how she left either. Read and Review!
1. Chapter 1 (Rin)

I do not own Inuyasha or any character in the franchise. There I said it.

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This my first (and probably last) Inuyasha fic. This little starter has been sitting in my documents for a little while. It's clearly a Sessh and a Rin piece. Hope you enjoy and please- for the love of greyskull- REVIEW this thing! Love and Good Wishes.

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Happiness

**(Rin)**

Rin hopped along the smooth dirt path on one foot, making a slight scuffle as she went. The wind wandered through the trees like a lost soul and brushed Rin's ponytail around into her eyes. The young woman swiped the hair from her face and tried to continue balancing with her firewood. The bundle of sticks was pressed close to her chest and she could smell the pine sap scent that wafted off them. The sounds and smells in the the forest made her smile a little and only intensified her desire to be with Sesshomaru. She had left him, injured, in a cave on the edge of the woods. There had been a demon attack on their estate and Sesshomaru had been stabbed clean through with the claw of another demon. Rin had insisted that her lord should stay and rest until he healed, but he had assured her that he was fine and that the reconstruction of their home should start at once. So they had left the estate together after Rin convinced him to let her bind the wounds with healing herbs and linens.

Just thinking of her beloved lord laying in a cave bleeding made her break off her silly hopping game and run. She darted over logs and ducked under branches, hurdling brambles by a measure. She didn't drop a single stick as her deer like grace pulled her through the brush. Rin's callused feet made barely a sound as she flew through the forest. Long tresses of black silken hair fluttered and fanned behind her. _If I'd been born a demon, I'd be a deer_, she decided to herself. As she broke the woods and skidded into the mouth of the cave, Rin called out in a loving tone, "Lord Sesshomaru, I've brought firewood! I promise it's drier than Jaken's." she laughed ducking into the low doorway, "I can't understand why he-" Rin let the bundle of wood clatter noisily to her feet. She backed up a step and blinked.

A dark haired man sat where she had left Sesshomaru. Dark charcoal hair tumbled down his shoulders and pooled on the floor. Rin cocked her head and drew the small sword Sesshomaru had made her. She rubbed the cool jade grip as she took a step closer. The man who sat in the dim glow of the cave was on his knees studying a single hand, flexing it close to his eyes. His big rusty gold eyes looked confused and incredulous. Rin was afraid trouble had befallen her beloved demon but caught no sight of blood, other than what stained this man's stomach. She watched the man turn the long slender hand over and over, as if he'd never seen such a thing. All at once Rin took in what he was wearing: a gorgeous white kimono with red patterning and a yellow belt.

It was a plain faced, dark haired Sesshomaru that sat in her midst. "I tell you, speak up or die! Is it you, my lord?" Rin said trying to hide the quiver in her voice. The man looked up and seemed surprised that Rin was there. Rin didn't know what to think of the man who looked like dark haired clone of Sesshomaru.

"Rin, don't be daft. It is me. Put your blade away." he winced and let out a wet cough, "Come help me up. I'm weak, but if we can get to a priest in town I believe everything will be alright. Don't be scared." he said in the same smooth, kind voice he'd always spoke to her in. Rin wasn't sure, though. _Her _lord had tresses of silver silk flowing down his head and demon marking ravaging his thin face. Her lord was exotic and wild. The man that sat before her, begging for help, was so..._so human, _Rin thought. His unmarked face and round ears screamed 'human' to her. He was similar enough to have been a twin, but he was not the demon she'd left an hour earlier.

"Milord I-"

"Rin, I will not ask you again. I've fallen ill and I need you to help or I won't make it to town." Rin still didn't trust him. It wasn't until he spoke again that Rin knew that it was Sesshomaru , "Rin, believe that it's me. You are my happiness." Sesshomaru often told her, when he was in a pleasant mood, _you are my happiness_. It was like a small secret line between them.

"Mine too." she whispered. Rin ran to him and began unbuckling his heavy armor. The large plates fell to the cave floor with a clatter and Rin kicked them aside, trying to pull Sesshomaru up. He pushed himself up unstably. Rin could feel his unsteadiness and she pressed herself to him for support. Rin could not, for the life of her, understand why her master was suggesting he actually needed help. He had never done anything like that. As she pondered Sesshomaru stumbled onto her and Rin nearly fell. She was near as tall as him now, but Rin was nowhere near as strong. She pushed him towards the cave and his feet snapped over the fallen sticks. Rin could scarcely get him out of the cave and onto A-Un. She finally managed to help him onto the saddle and set off in a mad dash for the near village.

A-Un had grown large enough to have to be saddled on each neck. Rin was glad she could ride next to Sesshomaru and every few seconds she would steal a glance at him. Rin's lord narrow eyes looked wary and worn. His burned hair flew behind him and he slouched in his saddle. Rin only once met Sesshomaru's eyes and she felt her face grow red. She looked away and heard him sigh. When she took another peep he was leaned onto the neck of the dragon. _Hurry A-Un. Please Hurry. _Rin kicked harder into the massive beast's sides and A-Un flew faster toward the village.

"Milord! I can see the village. You're going to be alright." Rin promised as the dragon hurled them closer to the village below. Rin looked over to Sesshomaru and tried not to make a face. He was a pasty white color and looked so sickly.

"That's very... optimistic of you Rin." Sesshomaru said quietly giving her a peculiar look. For a few minutes Sesshomaru held that look and stared at her. Rin began to wonder what he was looking at. He looked as if he was viewing her for the first time, drinking in her features. A-Un dove toward the town and Rin was thankful. As the huge beast skidded across the center of the town Rin vaulted off his back and went to receive her lord. Sesshomaru all but fell into her and she could do nothing but call for help. People had already began to gather around them, but not a single one made a move to help.

"I need a priest. He is sick. Please, help me. Please, I need a priest." Rin called to them. Sesshomaru leaned reliantly on her and he too watched as a man shoved his way through the crowd. When he broke into the small clearing Rin was shocked to see how handsome and young the priest was. He strode towards her confidently and spoke as he came.

"I am a monk. Bring your friend with me. I can help. That's my home." he said helping Rin move Sesshomaru toward a large two story building. "Move! There is nothing to gawk at! I need through!" The young monk shouted, using his staff to plow and prod people out of the way. Rin thought she saw the monk grope a woman's bottom on the way through. _No, _she thought, _Monks can not be that perverse._ Half way to the building Sesshomaru's legs seemed to give out and they had to drag him the rest. By time they neared the house he was unconscious. They were intercepted in the door way by a pretty woman with a young boy who clung to her skirts. "Sango, love, prepare some supplies for me. Bring what you think I'll need. He looks quite ill." the monk said pushing past the woman. She nodded and strode off.

Rin ended up sitting on a cushion beside Sesshomaru's head as the monk, who had politely introduced himself as Miroku, prodded around at the festering wound on Sesshomaru's abdomen. The woman, Sango, appeared shortly and gave Miroku an array of bottled medicines, small knifes, herbs, and other things. Rin could do nothing but hold her lords head and stroke his queer hair as Miroku worked. Rin noticed every grimace and twitch of Sesshomaru's face. The young woman ran her finger's through the black silken hair and thought about telling Miroku what Sesshomaru used to be like. She knew Sesshomaru wouldn't approve, but Rin didn't know what else to do. She gave her lord's feverishly warm cheek a kiss and leaned back. _What should I do Sesshomaru? What can I do? You said you needed his help _The young monk's brow was furrowed in concentration. Rin bit her lip and wondered if this was the sort of monk who exorcised demons. She knew she had to take the risk. _Forgive me, Milord._

"Miroku, sir." she said meekly. Rin almost flinched when he threw her an acknowledging glance, "My friend here...he's a demon. He used to look a little different...but he changed after we stayed in a cave for a night." she turned quickly, busying herself with Sesshomaru's tangled hair. There was a stale moment of silence and then the monk threw her another look, followed by a twitch of a smile.

"So you're a pretty and funny girl." he said, "The only full-blooded demon I sense within a fifty mile radius of this building is you, dear."

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Wow! Yo! Thanks for sticking with it! Review, review, review my darlings!


	2. Chapter 2 (Sessh & Rin)

Thank you guys so much for your reviews. I really appreciate it_!_ This is a Sesshomaru and Rin chapter. This will be a regular switch from chapter to chapter. Sometimes it will follow Rin around, other times Sesshomaru, and sometimes both. (and maybe even another character in future chapters_!_) Sorry for this slow chapter. It's sort of uneventful, but I will give you another chapter real soon_! _Thanks for reading guys, you are truly awesome_!_

(I don't own Inuyasha anything by the way)

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**(Sesshomaru)**

_ What is this feeling? My stomach is tight. It hurts. Why is my head buzzing...what is this? _Sesshomaru's thoughts jumbled around inside his fever ridden head. He couldn't explain the things he felt inside him. The lord had never experienced a fever before, so he had a hard time distinguishing whether he was humanly ill or actually on fire. It was painful, to say in the least and it scared him to feel so out of control. The fire continued as he tried to cry out. His stomach felt as it it was being ripped apart. And then it hit him, _Is it fear I'm feeling, other than this pain? Am I scared? _he asked himself. Sesshomaru had never wholly felt fear either. With the thoughts of mortality and fever clouding his mind he became overwhelmed. He struggled to clear the fog from his head, but every so often a word or phrase would find him.

A male voice was the first "-...you're the only demon within a...—" and another voice followed, a female voice.

"...I'm not a... I'm just a girl..."

It was hard for him concentrate enough to break free from the pain and heat that held him. It was like pulling himself from hot tar. If it would have been a physical occurrence it probably would have torn his skin off. He almost wished it was physical so he could hack through it with his sword. He wished many things in his unconscious state but not a single one came true. After what seemed like a decade he felt something give and he was floating. Lost in a less painful blackness, a deeper sleep maybe, but the voices found him once again.

"...he going to make it...?..." the female this time.

"...be weak, but, yeah, he'll recover.." the male responded in an echo-ey voice. And after that he heard nothing more. _Am I dreaming? Is this what sleep is like? Were those voices a dream?_

Lost in the land between sleep and consciousness, Sesshomaru hadn't felt more alone since the day his father died. He prattled to himself for a good while. The silence of his half unconscious mind left him to himself and when he finally stopped focusing on how uncomfortable he was, he realized how silent it had become.

He stayed in that quiet for a small while and then allowed his mind to wander. _What exactly is happening to me...? _he asked himself_. I...I've never slept before. I don't really need sleep. And I've never been scared before either...did father ever feel this way? _His uncertainty made him wish his father wasn't long dead. Secretly, for a long time, Sesshomaru had longed for his father's voice and guidance. It had been a sore ache in his gut for decades. And all of a sudden an small idea blossomed Sesshomaru's mind. It was a shameful idea, one his father would disapprove of, and one his brother would mock him for.

_I could die, _he thought mistrusting the idea, _Just give up...join father...and mother... .I think I want it...maybe. _Sesshomaru began weighing the choice in his head. It had been a struggle to pull out of the fevered torment and he knew with a slip of his thoughts, he could return. He let the boiling black heat in the back of his mind ebb forward a little. It almost felt good this time. The warmth seemed to draw his closer. _This won't be so unpleasant. I can slip away. I can take my dark hair and short fingernails and go. And this time I won't have to come back._

The sickly lord let the fever take his mind a little farther. He let it ease into a steady crawl and almost liked what he felt. It was warm and Sesshomaru was frightened at first. He'd never wholly given himself to much of anything. _It's okay. It's over now. Whatever you are holding onto, let it go, _Sesshomaru told himself. He struggled to let the the heat cover him completely. It was something he accepted wholly but only desired partially. Something inside him was holding him and clutched it right back. _Emotion... Is that it? Is this emotion? _It was like trying to drown himself. All he had to do was breath in and it'd be over. He could feel the heat stutter to a stop as it neared his end.

His pains were invisible to him now. In his blind unconscious mind he told himself that it was time. It was now or never. The boiling heat was like waves lapping at his face, just threatening to cover his nose. _Father, Mother, I'm coming. I'll show you what I've become, Father. Mother, I know you'll love Rin as much as I- _Sesshomaru stopped thinking. _Rin, _the name entered his mind. _I forgot Rin. Rin. Rin. Rin. _Her image and her name filled his whole being. Every moment they had been together, every memory with her included, filtered into his mind. They blazed by his eyes and in a split second the world was clear.

He sat up and found himself on a cot, clutching his stomach. His eyes flicked over to a wide eyed monk whose arms were covered in blood and then to a teary Rin who had a hold of a handful of his long hair. He threw himself down and into her arms, without a single regard for the blood seeping from his wound. Without a regard for her marked skin, her tan eyes, her hidden tail, or even her pointed ears. He simply didn't care.

"I am so sorry." he choked. And for the first time in his existence, Sesshomaru cried.

**(Rin)**

"I thought you were dead...I can't loose you... not ever_!_" Rin said in a trembling voice, burying her face into his hair, "You're my happiness, you know." she whispered. She clutched a handful of his hair and hugged him as close as she could. He shivered and trembled in her arms. His blood stained her fine clothes, but Rin did nothing to move him. And in that position, the young woman and the lord stayed for what seemed like a long while. Only when she felt his grip on her dampen a little did she pull away and grab his wrists.

She moved him to the cot and laid a hand on his cheek. Her hand ended up in his and he watched her as the silent Miroku set back to work. Rin didn't know, at the time that Sesshomaru was admiring her new face. Her yellowy-tan eyes met his and he let a weak smile cross his lips. She smiled back and wiped a tear from her cheek. Rin hadn't seen the dark tan her skin had become. She couldn't have know that two white streaks marked one cheek and her arms. He also admired the single small white dot that was placed right between her brows. _She's a demon... she's actually a demon, _he thought.

Rin was on the verge of asking Miroku how if she should do something when Sesshomaru's hand tightened around hers and he took a sharp breath. She turned her gaze to Miroku as he pulled the last stitch and ran his hand over him brow, leaving a streak of blood on his forehead.

"I hate to admit it, but I seriously thought you were going to die for a moment there. You're shaking was so violent and the coughing was no better." Miroku said, shaking his head. Rin didn't want to agree with him, but she did. Rin was sure she had lost Sesshomaru. She looked down at him and watched him gingerly touch the line of stitching across his stomach. "I don't know what happened. I could have sworn you were dead." Miroku said scooping his tools into a messy pile. Rin didn't expect Sesshomaru to reply.

But he sighed and mumbled, "Me too."

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Thanks for the reviews_!_ I really appreciate it_!_ Review some more_!_


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